'Buck for Kids' Friday benefits C.O. schools

On Friday, Central Oregon Dutch Bros. Coffee locations will donate $1 from every drink to the Bend-La Pine, Redmond and Sisters school districts.

It’s Dutch Bros. Coffee’s annual Buck for Kids Day, when all 213 locations in seven states donate drink proceeds to youth programs selected by local owner-operators. Last year's Buck for Kids Day raised $4,167 for local school districts and $139K for children's causes company-wide.

“We want to touch as many kids’ lives as possible,” said local owner-operator Bill Smith. “Schools are struggling, and we want our kids to have the educational opportunities they deserve.”

Dutch Bros. Coffee Co-Founder Travis Boersma, a father of four himself, says, “We love kids. Their enthusiasm for life is contagious, and we want to help them enjoy their lives without worry.”

Locally owned and operated by Bill and Carol Smith, the first Central Oregon Dutch Bros. opened in 2004.

Today, the Smiths have eight Central Oregon locations: five in Bend, two in Redmond and one in Sisters.

Before Dutch Bros., Bill owned his own resource management company and retired at the age of 40, but, “I got bored,” he says, “And two years later, I was at Dutch Bros.”

“I knew about Dutch Bros. and I knew that they got it,” Bill says. “I was blown away by [the owners’] grasp of the fact that the customer is at the top, then the employee, and the last person in that hierarchy is the owner.”

Since opening its first store in Bend in 2004, Dutch Bros. Central Oregon has given back over $560,000 to local causes, including Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Oregon, Healthy Beginnings, Neighbor Impact, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the local chapter of American Cancer Society.

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